Prelude to Excalibur
by Albertson
Summary: Morty starts writing down his adventures with Rick in the guise of class assignments, which eventually becomes a hobby for him, while Rick finds himself being drawn ever closer to the schemes of a cult worshipping an old foe of his he thought long gone. This story is a prequel to my first story, The Excalibur Saga. Dipper and Mabel will make an appearance at some point.
1. Escape and expression

**Escape and expression**

After what seemed like eternity in the realm of nightmares, Prince Jack had fallen through a breach between dimensions that his captor had created. Where he was, Jack did not know, but it was apparent that he was not in the Nightmare Realm anymore, though it did not make much difference, Bill had already made his mark here. This unfamiliar land was already teeming with his minions. Jack knew that he had to get as far away from here as he could. It did not matter where he went, as long as it was as far away from Bill as possible. When he set upon his escape, Jack came across a teenage boy, all on his own. It was obvious his family was taken by Bill. He could not avoid it, Jack needed to know where he was.

"Excuse me, young man. Can you tell me where this is?" asked Jack.

"This place? It used to be Gravity Falls. Now, it's Bill's playground. He's been here for the better part of a week now, petrifying the people and taking them God knows where" answered the boy, in a panicked voice. Jack felt a bit of sympathy for him. Bill was known for many things, but mercy was not one of them.

"We'll find a way out of here, I'm sure" Jack tried his best to assure the young man, but he was having none of it.

"It doesn't matter. My family is missing. Where would we go if we did escape?" wondered the boy. Jack knew he had a point there. Bill could very easily conquer this new world. There wouldn't be much refuge when he did, nor would this world's army have any sort of chance against him.

"You seem to know this place pretty well. Know any good hiding spots?" inquired Jack.

"The forest is filled with little spots where no-one can reach. We can go there and wait this out" the teenager replied. They immediately set out for the hiding spot that the boy mentioned, taking care to avoid Bill's minions as they went. Once they reached the spot, they knew they were in the clear, for now.

"I'm Shane, by the way. Shane Miller" introduced the boy. Jack would give his own name, but that version of him died when Bill took him all those years ago. He decided on a fake name, to renew himself for the better, and to find a way to atone for his crimes in his own home dimension.

"The name is Albert. Albert Stevens" invented Albert. He got the name from a set of old dog tags he found while ducking Bill's patrols. He did not know the real Albert Stevens, but it did not matter. From the look of the dog tags, Jack thought that Albert wouldn't mind much that he used his name.

After a couple of hours, something happened that neither of them were expecting. No sooner had they had an escape planned, that a small team of resistance fighters, made up of civilians that had hidden in an old tourist trap, penetrated Bill's castle, and somehow did the unthinkable. The land known as Gravity Falls was returning to normal, and anything that was a native of the Nightmare Realm was being sucked back into that dimension. This meant only one thing. Bill Cipher, the immortal king of nightmares, was destroyed. The forests were green again and the air smelt fresh. Albert was free at last. Families were being reunited, and celebrations were planned to commemorate their victory. But deep down, Albert had the sinking feeling that this reprieve was temporary. If he knew anything of Bill, it was that he always had a backup plan. What that was, only time will tell.

3 weeks later

The school year had started in earnest in Washington, but Morty was barely there for any of it, as he was mostly helping Rick out on his adventures, as he always did. It became a routine thing that the Smith family grew to accept, now that Beth and Jerry's marriage was back on track. Rick wasn't happy about it, but then again, he was almost never happy. On one of the few days that Morty did attend school, he was given an assignment for a creative writing class; come up with a story that was at least passable. When Morty got to his locker to get his things for the next class, he found an all too familiar face waiting for him there.

"Come on, Morty. I need your help on another adventure" Rick stated, and he opened a portal with his portal gun.

"Rick, if I miss any more school, I'll be held back, and I'll miss the chance to go to high school with Jessica" Morty groaned.

"Then I'll home-school you if this prison for minors has an issue with you helping your grandpa if you really want an education that badly. Now let's get moving" Rick countered, in his usual cynical fashion.

"Can't you do things on your own? My dad is already looking for an excuse to get rid of you after that incident at the White House" Morty argued.

"Firstly, I couldn't care less what your dad thinks of me. We both know he's too spineless to take any sort of action. Second, Ricks and Morties do everything together, it's a fact of the multiverse. We need to move, now. This is very time-sensitive" Rick concluded.

"Fine" Morty conceded, and stepped through the portal. Rick and Morty found themselves on another alien planet. The first few times, Morty was left in awe, but after seeing new planets every week, it sort of lost its appeal.

"Welcome to Caponi 4, where the entire planet is run by 1920s style gangsters. You ever want to hide from the law, or make some backroom deals, you come here. Real easy stop for the scum of the galaxy, Morty" Rick explained.

"So, what are we doing here again?" Morty asked, secretly dreading the answer.

"Advertising. Ever since a certain someone killed my best customer, I've been struggling to find someone to sell weapons to. All the best buyers are too scared they'll end up like Krombopulos Michael to even approach me. We are going to show them that what happened to Michael won't happen to anyone else" Rick answered.

"How?" Morty inquired, cautiously.

"I've been talking to this world's leaders and we've worked something out. Since they were super impressed that you, me and Summer toppled the Federation, they won't kill you, as is tradition here. Instead, we have to help them build a new cloaking device" Rick further explained.

"Did they say what this cloaking device was to hide them from?" Morty quizzed. As if on cue, a hit squad of armed assailants popped out of nowhere and surrounded Rick and Morty.

"Relax, Morty, this is how these people say 'hi'" Rick assured his panicking grandson. It seems that Rick was right, as the armed escort brought the ruling body over to Rick and Morty.

"Rick Sanchez, my old friend. It has been far too long" greeted Governor Narkill. Morty thought this guy dressed too much like a crime boss for his liking. Then again, Rick had taken him to a planet run by mobsters.

"Hey, Pete. How's thing?" Rick replied.

"I wish I could say easier. They were when the Federation fell, but things have gotten harder again. We should talk more inside" responded Narkill. He led Rick and Morty to the Governor's Hall, and in his office, Narkill explained his situation.

"I fear that you may have replaced a manageable problem with one that is quickly spiralling out of control. It is the Citadel we need to hide from now, Rick. Things have changed" Narkill explained. Rick was only mildly interested.

"I always thought no-one knew about the Citadel of Ricks" Rick said.

"That changed when you raided a federal prison with the Citadel in tow. To be fair, it still was hidden, but with the new leadership, there has been a change in policy" Narkill outlined.

"What is the new leadership doing, and more importantly, why do I care?" Rick asked.

"You should care, old friend. The new, democratically elected President of the Citadel has a more expansionistic point of view. Namely, he seeks to take control any way he can, and with an army of Ricks at his disposal, President Morty can do exactly that with minimal effort" Narkill told Rick and Morty. This got Rick's attention. He never thought a Morty of the Citadel could take a position of power, much less the presidency.

"But why bring the Citadel out of hiding. Doesn't that go against what it was built for?" Rick observed.

"That is what we don't understand. I have had an informant gather intel directly from the source, and it seems President Morty has had trouble convincing the Ricks to go along with his campaign, so he's been persuading them, with the help of this new cult that's been cropping up everywhere" Narkill summarised.

"Lame. Why would I care about the actions of some Kool-Aid drinking wackjobs. I came here to build a cloaking device, so let us please get on with it" Rick retorted.

"Very well. But please, bear in mind what I have said here today. My informant tells me the cult has an agenda which will have dire consequences for everyone in the universe, Rick" Narkill concluded, and he showed Rick where he wanted the cloaking device to be placed. It was only when they were alone, that Morty decided to speak at last.

"Aren't you the least bit curious as to what's going on at the Citadel? The governor seemed really worried" Morty raised his concern.

"Not in the slightest. Out of all our adventures, Morty, there are some I'd rather forget, and anything to do with the Citadel can be counted among them. As far as I'm concerned, the Citadel is finished to me" Rick shot down as he began his work.

"We've had some crazy adventures, do you really want to forget some?" Morty inquired.

"Trust me, Morty, when you've been doing this as long as I have, there are some things best left unspoken. It's not all fun and games" Rick answered. This got Morty thinking. What if he wrote down some of the adventures he and Rick had for his writing class? He would have to change some names, but with all he had been through, it was sure to get him an A. It couldn't hurt to jot things down when he got home. Just as he was finished with his train of thought, Rick handed him the portal gun.

"I need you to go here and pick up some parts for me. Try not to be seen buying these, some are extremely illegal" Rick instructed, and opened a portal for Morty to slip through. Once Morty went through, he found himself at a seedy city densely populated with the usual kinds of people you would see in a city like New York. Morty went to the store Rick had outlined in a small piece of paper he gave Morty prior to his departure, and to his relief, no-one was around. He bought the goods, portaled them to Rick and was about to step through himself, when he was handed a leaflet by some wierdo in a hooded coat.

"Beware, child, for the All-Seeing Eye may be dormant now, but the time will come when he will rise again" the cultist preached. Morty had heard enough, and stepped through the portal. Little did Morty know, that the cultist commed someone as Morty stepped through.

"Did anyone see you?" Rick quizzed, eager not to run into trouble.

"No, just some robed wierdo. He may be a member of that cult Narkill mentioned" Morty answered.

"Best keep that encounter to yourself, Morty. This lot are extremely paranoid and very trigger happy. Rather not want a shootout here" Rick warned. Rick had finished the cloaking device, and Narkill, in turn, announced that any looking to buy weapons should go to Rick, as he can get anything done promptly. After a shower of thanks, Rick and Morty returned home. Morty had rushed to his room and began chronicling his adventures with Rick as best as he remembered them, which wasn't hard as he couldn't forget them, even if he tried. After an hour, the first draft was finished and printed, ready to submit to his writing teacher the following day.

Back on Caponi 4, Narkill's informant came back from the Citadel with a rather alarmed expression, as he was sharing what he knew of the cult's plans.

"We are in way over our heads here, boss! This isn't any old cult of crazies, they are borderline psychotic!" the informant ranted, panicking.

"Relax, Kilstone, please. Share with me what you know" Narkill eased.

"The Ricks that oppose the Citadel call him enemy number one. This cult worships someone even Ricks are afraid of, so much so, they are afraid to even say his name out loud, and according to my source, the cult is close to finding and restoring this god to his former power" Kilstone outlined. Narkill did not know what to say to this. Just as he was forming words in his mind, his guard came bursting into his office.

"They're here" the guard said, and Narkill gave the order to man the defences. Gangsters could be seen taking up arms and preparing to defend the governor's home.

"You have to leave, now. Find a way to inform Rick C-137 of what you have seen. Maybe then he will listen. Remember, inform only that Rick, and none other" Narkill ordered, and Kilstone got into an escape craft, fleeing the fighting that took place down below. While the home defenders put up a valiant attempt, they could not hold back the cultist forces for long, and soon, Narkill was face to face with President Morty.

"Fine company you're keeping these days, Mister President" Narkill complemented, mockingly.

"We have an arrangement, that's all" President Morty stated.

"I see, you help resurrect their beloved god, and in return, he grants you your ideal world. You know, what you seek and what he will bring are two different things" Narkill cautioned, in vain.

"Come, now, everything's negotiable. I'm sure we can come to an agreement of our own. Rick was here, we know, we traced his Morty's portal signature here. I can make it worth your while if you help my friends track him down" President Morty bargained.

"We may be gangsters, crime bosses and hitmen, but we know loyalty. We will never give Rick up to you, or your god" Narkill said, bravely and defiantly.

"That's too bad. You seemed like a reputable businessman" Morty concluded, and with a snap of his fingers, the cultists gunned down the remaining survivors, and torched any building they could find to the ground.

From the skies, Kilstone saw it all, Narkill's last stand, the burning of his home, and the cult forces leaving behind the wreckage. His time as a gangster was over. His time as a freedom fighter had now begun, and Kilstone's first order of business, was to get the word out to Rick, or any Rick, that this cult was working to resurrect Bill Cipher.

Author's note: Show of hands, who among you thought I was dead. Let's see,1,2,3,4, most of you then. I should probably explain where I've been. One, I've really wanted to do a Rick and Morty/Gravity Falls crossover for a while now, so I've been marathoning the show on Netflix. Two, I've gotten my hands on a new laptop, so I've been setting that up, and three, I have honestly been struggling to put this together. Even now, things in this fic may not seem coherent or make sense. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. Rick and Morty is owned by Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon and Adult Swim. Gravity Falls is owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney. Enjoy.


	2. The Astral Arena

**The Astral Arena**

Since the destruction of his home, Kilstone's mission was clear; find Rick and warn him of the cult's intentions. But he had been scrambling his brain for days, and could not think of a way to get a message to Rick without the cult finding out. During his time in the Citadel, he learnt that the cult's mission to revive Bill was being kept secret from the Rick population, to prevent a potential uprising. If it was revealed that their president was working to resurrect their number one enemy, there would be mass rebellion. He had stopped in a seedy motel on some backwater world, when the T.V. showed something interesting.

'Coming to you live, from the Astral Arena, this latest battle royale is about to get underway! You know the score, 100 people go in, only 1 comes out alive. Today's tributes are being aired in as we speak. Of course, we cannot see or hear what they say before the battle. After all, who wants to hear 100 people beg for mercy? That's just embarrassing, and not very good for ratings. The victims - I mean, participants, are dropping into the arena space. For those not in the know, let's catch you up. The objective is simple; be the last man standing to win untold riches. Every 10 minutes, the arena space will shrink by a few feet, and anyone found outside the zone will be terminated. Weapons and gear have been scattered around the arena space, because gunning down unarmed combatants will get you disqualified. Also, anyone not claiming a weapon in the first 5 minutes is disqualified as well, can't have people thinking they can win by not playing. Now that the official stuff is out of the way, LET THE BLOODBATH BEGIN!'

Kilstone left after that. He found the idea of blood sports distasteful. Living on a planet run by gangsters, he was always taught that killing should be a last resort, not a measure unto itself. But the announcement did give him an idea. What if he signed up for the Astral Arena? He did know that anyone who signed up, and wasn't randomly selected, could challenge someone to this battle, and if they won, would get 'extra credit'. But to Kilstone, that wasn't important. That the participants got privacy beforehand, was important. He had found his answer. Kilstone had got out his communication device, and called the arena officials.

"Hello, Astral Arena registration, can I help you?" the clerk answered.

"Hi, this is Kilstone. I'd like to sign up for the next Astral Arena" Kilstone replied.

"Really? We haven't had a willing participant in a while. I must ask this, it's company policy. Have preparations been made to secure your family's welfare in the event of your bloody and painful death?" the clerk inquired.

"I'm on my own, right now, I have no family" Kilstone answered.

"I see. We can skip most of these questions then. Just one other thing. Do you intend to challenge anyone?" the clerk quizzed.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I challenge Rick Sanchez" Kilstone responded. There was a slight pause. It was obvious to Kilstone that the clerk had trouble believing what she was hearing.

"Sir, would you rather challenge someone less….god-like?" the clerk cautioned. Rick's reputation had preceded him.

"My choice is absolute. I am challenging Rick Sanchez" Kilstone affirmed.

"I see, well, it was nice knowing you" the clerk gave in, and made all the arrangements, after hanging up.

Back on Earth, Morty was handing in his creative writing assignment, or chronicles of his and Rick's adventures with a slight name change, and the teacher was thoroughly impressed with what he was reading.

"I must say, Morty. What you lack in math skills, you make up for in creativity. This 'Richard' character is certainly very down-to-earth" Mr. Green, Morty's English teacher, reviewed.

"Yeah, I try to base my characters in reality, so the reader can identify with them better" Morty replied.

"It certainly shows. All in all, very well done. A+" Mr. Green graded Morty's work. Morty was hiding it well, but he was proud of this. In the limited time that he attended school due to adventures with Rick, Morty had never got more than a C for any of his school work. The only thing Morty was worried about is what would happen if Rick found out he had been writing their adventures down and using them to get good grades. There was little time to dwell on this, as Jessica approached him.

"In all the time you've been in our class, that may have been the best grade you've ever got" Jessica noticed. Ever since the incident where Morty ran away for three weeks to become a New York stock broker, Jessica and Morty have been on talking terms. Morty, being the lovesick puppy that he is, secretly hoped it would lead to more, but still never surmounted the courage to ask her out.

"Thanks. Goes to show what I can achieve when I'm not out with Rick" Morty responded.

"I couldn't help but notice, are those stories, in any way, based off your adventures with him?" Jessica probed.

"That obvious, was it?" Morty answered.

"I'm not judging. Far from it, I think you should put those online. I have a couple friends that write and post stories they come up with. The community's really welcoming. It might help you make new friends" Jessica suggested.

"Well, I didn't write down all my adventures in that assignment. Maybe I will do that. Thanks, Jessica" Morty agreed, and the bell rang to signify the start of the next period. As bold as Jessica's suggestion was, it was also very risky, to Morty, at least. If Rick found these online stories Morty would write, he would not be happy. Then again, Rick is never happy, so it's not like it would change much.

The rest of the school day passed by with no interruption from Rick, pulling Morty out like he always did, which Morty found unusual, but not unwelcome. As exciting as the adventures were, Morty appreciated the odd quiet day when nothing happened. That would change, however, when Morty arrived home. The family sat down to dinner, when an unexpected visitor dropped by the house.

"Message for Rick Sanchez" the messenger bot that came through the window stated. "You have been challenged to a battle royale at the Astral Arena. You have 24 hours to make preparations for your family's welfare in the event of your death. Failure to attend will result in bounty hunters being sent after you. Good day, Smith family" the bot concluded, and withdrew from the premises.

"Rick, what is the Astral Arena, and who's challenging you to this 'battle royale'?" Jerry inquired. Rick, however, was a mixture of both intrigued and slightly annoyed.

"It's exactly what it sounds like, an arena where 100 people go in and only one comes out alive. It's broadcasted all over Interdimensional Cable for the rich and powerful to watch the lowly peasants kill each other" Rick explained. Morty was horrified.

"So it's like Fortnite in real life. That's barbaric!" Morty exclaimed.

"It's space T.V. Morty. Shows like this rule the ratings ever since the service privatised. What I find odd is that usually the contestants are selected at random. No-one has ever willingly applied or challenged anyone for about five years now" Rick outlined.

"That doesn't matter! You can't just slaughter 99 other people for entertainment. This isn't Ancient Rome!" Morty argued.

"You heard the messenger, right? If I don't go, bounty hunters get sent after me" Rick countered.

"So? Bounty hunters get sent after you all the time, it's no big deal" Morty observed.

"OK, Morty. The real reason I'm going is I'm very interested in who's challenging me. I would've thought my reputation would keep people from making such a suicidal play" Rick admitted.

"Why do you care who challenged you, Rick? You can't just take part in a blood sport!" Summer interjected.

"Look, the bounty hunters won't stop at me. They get paid by the network to use any means necessary to ensure I compete, and that includes taking my immediate family hostage, or murdering them outright. I'm doing this for everyone's sake, OK" Rick concluded.

"Awwww, you do care about us, Dad" Beth said.

"If you say so, sweetie. Now, I have some prep work to do. Lucky for you all, the family is invited to watch, but they cannot intervene in the competition, or I get disqualified, and I'm fairly sure I don't need to explain what disqualification means" Rick explained.

"Message received. I'd wish you good luck, but that would mean condoning mass murder, so I'll just say try not to die" Jerry wished. Rick left to the garage to conduct his preparations for the competition ahead.

Back in his room, Morty was pacing up and down. In 24 hours, he would watch his grandfather compete in a brutal Hunger Games style contest where he would either see him die, or kill lots of innocent beings to win. Either way was not pleasant to think about. He needed something to distract him from this grim thought, so he logged onto his laptop, and decided to take Jessica's advice, and post his stories on an art and fiction sharing website Jessica had recommended to him called ArtSpace. According to Jessica, this was a site where people shared their drawings and stories either based off T.V. shows, cartoons, films etc. or original pieces by users hoping to get their work noticed by prominent art and writing schools. Morty made an account and submitted his first stories. He doubted he'd get much attention, after all, he was a new hand at this, but if what Jessica said was true, the welcoming community he'd get to talk to would provide ample distraction from what was to come.

The next morning arrived, but no-one got any sleep that night. The upcoming arena fight was prevalent on everyone's minds. Another messenger bot told them that the transport to pick up Rick and his family would arrive in an hour, so all they could do was wait.

"Go over the whole 'shrinking arena' thing again?" Summer asked.

"Simple. Every 10 minutes, if the arena detects more than one person still alive, the system shrinks the arena space a good few feet, thereby boxing the competitors in more. Anyone found outside the arena boundaries is subjected to an inhospitable environment designed to kill slowly" Rick outlined.

"Just spit-balling here, you could just not kill anyone while you're in there. Wait out the storm, if you will" Jerry suggested.

"You mean, camp? That's a disqualification. That means I get shot by a firing squad and the family has to make its own way back home. Very cruel, this game, to all involved" Rick rebutted.

"Rick, you've busted out of a Federation prison, brought down a galactic government, and even fought the president. Surely you can get out of this" Morty pleaded.

"I have my reasons for doing this, Morty. All I ask is a little faith. Besides, it's me. You know what I can do, I'll be fine" Rick assured, and sure enough, the pickup transport arrived to take them all to the Astral Arena. Rick was taken to the waiting area for contestants while the rest of the family were escorted to their seats in the observation room. Since the arena was large, monitors were installed for the families and paying customers to watch what was happening at any given time, through the cameras all around the arena. Remotes were also issued so people could pick the view they wanted at any given time.

Rick had not been in the waiting area for more than five minutes until he was approached by a member of staff.

"Your challenger has requested his 15 minutes alone with you. Use this time to beg for mercy however you see fit. Should your challenger believe your sincerity and withdraw his challenge, you will be free to go, along with your family, and another tribute will be chosen at random" the staff member droned on.

"This should be interesting" Rick remarked. Whoever this challenger was, Rick would not give him the satisfaction of begging for his life. It would not look good on a man of his reputation. When Rick entered the room designated for challenger and challenged to have their last private moment before the event, Rick was surprised to find a familiar face there.

"Wait a minute, I recognise you. Weren't you Narkill's right hand man?" Rick inquired.

"I was. Narkill is dead. His last order was for me to find and warn you of what's coming" Kilstone informed.

"And you thought challenging me to a battle to the death was the best way of doing that? Someone needs to go back to gangster school" Rick retorted.

"I know it's extreme, but this is the only place I knew of that the cult has no ears and eyes" Kilstone explained.

"Not this 'cult' business again. I already heard of them from Morty. He had a run-in with one of them when we were last on your world" Rick shared.

"You should not be so quick to dismiss them, especially when you hear what they're planning?" Kilstone urged Rick to listen, but he was having none of it.

"I told Morty this, I'll tell you. I don't care if some wackjobs want to drink the Kool-Aid as a token of favour to some god they invented. No business of mine" Rick rebuffed, and made to leave the room.

"This cult worships Bill Cipher" Kilstone said, and upon hearing this, Rick stopped in his tracks and turned to face Kilstone.

"I'm only going to ask you this once; how do you know that name?" Rick interrogated.

"Narkill heard of the cult's existence some time before President Morty attacked. He sent me to the Citadel to gain information. Listen to me, Rick. According to my intel, Bill was defeated some time ago, but not fully destroyed. This cult plans to restore him to his former power, because they believe Bill will grant them whatever they wish in return, the deluded fools" Kilstone outlined.

"Yeah, sounds like him" Rick confirmed.

"Only the rest of the Ricks don't know this. They are under the impression that the cult is a policing body under President Morty's charge. It's all a giant smokescreen. Narkill hoped you could get a message out" Kilstone further explained.

"If the Ricks in the Citadel still remember the old ways, we would need proof along with the message before they act. If evidence were to surface of Bill's return, all Ricks, along with their Morties, retreat to their own realities and destroy their portal guns. It's a last resort, but it's all we can do to ensure no-one gets compromised" Rick added.

"The only thing I don't know yet, is how they intend to heal Bill. But I do have a lead on where Bill's body is" Kilstone offered.

"It's a start. Where is it?" Rick asked, but before Kilstone could divulge the information, the staff member came in and told them the fifteen minutes were up.

"I believe Rick's sincerity. I withdraw my challenge" Kilstone declared.

"Change of plan. Orders from above say that, ever since it got out that Rick Sanchez was going to be in this fight, our sponsors paid double to ensure Rick competes. Sorry, but you're going in" the staff member said.

"And who are your sponsors?" Rick quizzed, although he had his suspicions about who they were.

"The Pythian Cult" the staff member answered, and both Rick and Kilstone were taken to the transport where they would be carted off into the Arena itself, along with the other 98 contestants.

"Not good" Kilstone pointed out. Rick asked if the Pythian Cult was the one Kilstone was mentioning before, and Kilstone confirmed it.

"The arena manager must be with them. Probably thought Bill would see plenty of use for his little arena in the new world" Rick theorized.

"If that's true, then we must assume this contest will be rigged against you. We need a plan to get out of here" Kilstone added. Rick racked his brain, and eventually thought of something.

"I have an idea. It's a long shot, but it's our only hope" Rick suggested, and he and Kilstone swapped tactics.

In the stands, Morty and the rest of the Smith family took their seats to observe the 'game'. While Morty could not help but worry about Rick, he also could help thinking that this would make an excellent story to share on ArtSpace. He started taking mental notes of the arena, the contestants, etc. to get a bigger picture of what was happening around him, in preparation for his next piece.

"Why doesn't anyone do something about this? I always thought advanced galactic societies would be above these kind of barbaric blood sports" Summer ranted.

"It's like Rick used to say; once you've reached the pinnacle of evolution, all you can go is down" Morty elaborated.

"Have a little faith, kids. If I know my dad, he will undoubtedly have a brilliant plan to turn the tables on these fiends" Beth assured Morty and Summer. Jerry, on the other hand, was busy with other priorities.

"Dad! Rick is about to enter a battle royale to the death and you're eating snacks?!" Morty exclaimed.

"What? I'm just trying to make the best of things. The caterers spent a lot of effort to recreate Earth pretzels and I will not see that go to waste" Jerry insisted.

"You do realize that by buying those, you are supporting this needless slaughter" Summer argued.

"I don't like it either, but since I can't do anything about it, I might as well enjoy what I can" Jerry countered. At that moment, the contest was about to start.

"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen and other beings, to this extra special Astral Arena battle! Why is it extra special? Because I have just been told that this bout will be featuring a warrior of great infamy. He's destroyed planets, he's brought down whole governments, and he did it all while drunk. Give it up for Rick Sanchez!" the MC announced. When Rick's name was called, the crowd either applauded, booed, or stopped in awe.

"And who would be crazy enough to step into this arena with such a lethal legend? Please give a hand to his challenger, Jake Kilstone!" the MC introduced. One look at Kilstone from the crowd, and the audience laughed.

"That twig, take down Rick Sanchez? That'll be the day!" one member said.

"He must have a death wish!" another member added. Morty, however, was curious. He had seen Kilstone before, back on Caponi 4. He was Narkill's right hand. What was he doing here? And why had he challenged Rick to this game? All questions Morty would have to ask Rick, should he survive this.

"Now, now. These contestants, and the 98 others we've abducted against their will, will be entering the arena in a few minutes. But first, let's lay down the rules for any newcomers to this game" the MC said, and he recited the rules of the game. The Smith family knew most of this, but it seems that alliances between players were allowed, and that the players were given a 15 minute grace period at the start of the match to gather weapons, supplies and shelter before the actual game began. If, Morty suspected, Rick did have a plan, he would use this grace period to make preparations to implement it.

Once the 15 minute period was over, Rick and Kilstone put their plan into action. Once the signal sounded to mark the actual start of the killing spree, Rick presented himself as a target to all the potential competitors.

"Here I am! The famous Rick Sanchez. Come and get me!" Rick taunted.

"Is this guy stupid? Rick must've been smoking something really strong because he just baited all the other contestants, and from the looks of things, they're going for it. Looks like this legend is soon to become a martyr!" the MC commentated.

"Rick, what are you up to?" Morty wondered to himself. As expected, all the contestants were rushing to Rick's location. As soon as they were close to the hut that he and Kilstone were using as shelter, what looked like a grenade went off, only instead of an explosion, a gas seeped out and everyone started coughing endlessly, and eventually falling to the ground. In the 15 minute period, Rick had picked some flowers and harvested some other natural materials the Arena kept, and manufactured them into a poison gas. Both he and Kilstone used parts of their clothes to use as makeshift gas masks to protect them from the effects of the gas. But now came the uncomfortable part. Only Rick and Kilstone were left.

"Sorry about this, bro, but it has to be done" Rick apologised, and stuck Kilstone with a liquid form of the knockout gas.

"Errrrrr, we're not quite sure what happened here, folks, but our systems report that all but Rick have been terminated. Guess he's set a new record, 99 people killed in 10 seconds. We request patience while we consult with the referee" the MC urged and talked for a few minutes with the referee. Eventually, he faced the audience again.

"Since Rick used materials found in the Arena, that technically makes what he did legal. So, give it up for today's winner, Rick Sanchez!" the MC concluded. The audience was not happy.

"We paid to see a slaughter!" one member shouted.

"I want a refund!" another demanded, and boos echoed throughout the stands. At that moment, Rick took the MC spot.

"Hold your horses, people, management and I agreed we would have another match today, for free to make up for this one. Stay in your seats and I promise you a show you won't believe" Rick placated the crowd, and they resumed their seat. He handed the floor back to the MC.

"How about that, two shows in one day. You are one lucky audience. Let's see our new lot of 100 victims!" the MC, and once the 99 corpses were transported back to their respective homes, the new lot of 'contestants' arrived. Upon seeing them, the audience may not have given too much care, the MC was horrified.

"How is that possible?! These are our investors! And that one there is our manager. What's going on here?! What did you do, Rick?!" the MC demanded to know. Once the unwitting victims were in the arena, the boundaries started closing in much more rapidly than usual. It was at this point Rick took the MC's spot again.

"One thing you should learn about me, is never give me time to plan. Let me lay it out. That gas I cooked up didn't actually kill anyone, it just lowered their vitals to the point of near death, just enough for your computers to think they were and send them home. The whole thing about this match, was all my partner, Kilstone. Intergalactic gangsters are better hackers than Anonymous ever will be. Oh, and you may want to leave in a panicked fashion. In 15 minutes, this arena will self-destruct. As of this broadcast, the Hunger Games have been permanently cancelled. Sanchez out" Rick addressed the crowd, did a mic drop, took his family and portal gunned them home, leaving the arena and its occupants to what fate Rick neither knew nor cared.

Back at the Smith residence, everyone was applauding Rick for a job well done, and to congratulate him on surviving extremely long odds.

"Just another day at the office, kids. Now get to bed, it's getting late" Rick shrugged off all the praise, and everyone went to bed, knowing they could sleep easy tonight. Rick, on the other hand, went to the garage, and waiting for him there, was Kilstone.

"Narkill was right about you. You are good" Kilstone praised.

"Save it, we have more pressing concerns. What do we do about Bill and the Pythian Cult?" Rick asked, and he and Kilstone spent most of that night strategizing their next move.

Morty checked his ArtSpace account before going to bed, and noticed that he had received a very interesting comment concerning his latest submission.

'This reminds me of that one summer I spent at Gravity Falls. All sorts of weird stuff happened there. This story brought back memories of good times. Please write more' the comment from a user called WaddlePines said. This piqued Morty's curiosity. He had never heard of a place called Gravity Falls. What was this user's history there? And what happened in this Gravity Falls to earn its weirdness status? Morty sent a PM to WaddlePines asking for elaboration, before going to bed.

In the Citadel, President Morty was reviewing the report on what happened at the Astral Arena, and he was concerned about Rick's actions.

"You say this 'Kilstone' challenged Rick to the arena prior to the incident?" President Morty asked his liaison to the Pythian Cult.

"Yes, sir. We believe he used the privacy given to contestants prior to the start of the match to warn Rick about our intentions" the liaison answered, fearing President Morty's wrath.

"Don't worry, I have a back-up plan" President Morty assured the liaison, before snapping his fingers, signalling the other cultists to shoot the liaison for his mistakes. President Morty made his way to a secret laboratory he had inside the Citadel. Once there, he addressed the staff.

"Is it ready?" President Morty inquired.

"Yes, Mr. President. The subject is ready to receive orders" the head technician, Tammy, replied.

"Good, wake him" President Morty ordered, and Tammy did so. On an operating table, lay Phoenix-person. He had since been reprogrammed, following the fall of the Federation, to obey President Morty's commands.

"I have a mission for you, Phoenix-person. You are to kill Rick C-137" President Morty instructed.

"Orders received and understood" Phoenix-person acknowledged, and left to carry out the orders.

Author's note: I am so sorry this took so long. There was that whole laptop fiasco after the first chapter went up, then when I got the new laptop I had to get everything set up. It is only now that I find myself in a good place to start writing regularly again. I am testing a new writing method with this one; writing a couple hundred words a day to help space the ideas out. You probably shouldn't expect all subsequent chapters to be this long, this was just an experiment, also my take on 'battle royale' games like PUBG and Fortnite. I never play these, personally. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. Rick and Morty belongs to Adult Swim, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, and Gravity Falls belongs to Disney and Alex Hirsch. Enjoy.


	3. Gambling with the future

**Gambling with the future**

After much discussion following the events at the Astral Arena, Rick had learned that Narkill had acquired location co-ordinates for Bill's body but split the code in two and scattered the two halves across the galaxy before he died. Kilstone's mission, prior to Rick's arrival on Caponi 4, was to acquire one half of the co-ordinates that the cult found first before it could be re-secured, but the Citadel was too heavily fortified for one person to attain them. So, rather than waste time coming up with a plan that would ultimately fail part way through, Rick and Kilstone devised an alternate strategy.

"Tell me again why he hid the other half there?" Rick inquired.

"Vegassian Prime is notorious for getting lost in. It's where those who've hit rock bottom keep on falling, a real paradise. It also helps that the manager of that casino world was a friend of Narkill's. He must've thought the code would be safe there" Kilstone explained.

"Makes sense. So, how do we get the code without the cult finding out? They've already proven they have eyes and ears almost everywhere" Rick reasoned. At this moment, Morty walked into the garage.

"Hey, Rick. Mum wants to know when your 'guest' will be leaving. She says he's making Dad nervous" Morty said.

"Jerry can handle death match arenas and killer theme parks, but one gangster freaks him out? Lame" Rick ridiculed.

"Former gangster. Once the cult's beaten I intend to move on to other things" Kilstone corrected.

"So, we beat the cult and he leaves. Great, when do we get going?" Morty asked.

"Not so fast, Morty. Vegassian Prime does not allow minors, and we want to keep a low profile, so you're sitting this one out" Rick dismissed.

"What, but I thought Ricks and Morties did everything together" Morty countered.

"Not this time, I'm afraid. Besides, I'm sure you have school to catch up with" Rick responded. Now Morty was worried. A few days ago, Rick called school 'prison for minors' and said he would home school Morty should it take away from adventures. This change in tune from Rick was unsettling to say the least.

"I don't like this, Rick. Whenever you go off by yourself, it usually leads to some big disaster that has major consequences for the entire family. Is everything alright?" Morty quizzed, concerned for his grandfather.

"Don't be such a worrywart, it's me you're talking to. Everything will be fine. I'll tell you all about it when I get back, but please just trust me" Rick pleaded, before he and Kilstone portalled out.

"That's what I was afraid you'd say" Morty replied to himself after they left. Morty then went to his room to check his ArtSpace account. The user known as WaddlePine replied to his PM. Morty read the message with interest.

'Gravity Falls is known for its weird happenings. Me and my twin brother would solve many mysteries while we were there. We were known as the 'Mystery Twins' all that summer. I could go on and on about all the stuff we did, but it would take too long, so I'll just say it was weird and wonderful'

The message was only sent a few minutes ago, and Morty was already keen to know more. He added WaddlePine to his friends list, and using the chat function, initiated contact.

"I want to know more about this 'Gravity Falls' place. Please tell me more" Morty said. Strangely enough, after he did this, WaddlePine used another function on the website; the video chat. Morty answered the call, and to his surprise, a girl about his age appeared on-screen.

"So, this is Mortylicious. Nice to meet you face-to-face, or screen-to-screen" she greeted.

"Morty's my real name, Morty Smith. I only created this account a few days ago, and in my rush to upload my stories I couldn't think of anything fancier" Morty replied.

"Mabel Pines, writer extraordinaire, and this is Waddles" Mabel introduced, and she brought her pet pig in view of Morty.

"Wow, a pet pig. Is it bad to say that's not the strangest thing I've seen in my life? Most pigs I see are usually on dinner plates" Morty responded.

"Waddles is part of our crazy family, not lunchmeat. He and I have been through a lot together, like that time he chased off Wendy's jerky ex Robbie, that was funny" Mabel explained. Morty laughed at this.

"How'd you get him? I imagine he didn't come cheap" Morty wondered.

"I didn't buy him. I won Waddles at a fair my Grunkle Stan rigged up, literally. Then some time travel shenanigans happened, and my twin brother Dipper and I ended up on the Oregon Trail, back to the time of the dinosaurs, and even went back to earlier that summer. That was fun" Mabel answered. Just then, a boy, presumably Mabel's twin brother, walked in.

"What you forgot to mention was that you left behind calculators and told the people on that trail about the future. We could've seriously screwed up the timeline; and who are you even talking to?" Dipper added.

"Details, who needs them? And this is Morty, one of my ArtSpace friends. Morty, this is Dipper, my twin brother and colossal nerd" Mabel joked. Dipper turned to Morty.

"Look, dude, I'll give you fair warning, Mabel may go nuts over you, it's how she is" Dipper warned.

"Come on, Dipper. I don't go gaga for every boy I see" Mabel argued.

"Hmmmmm, let's see, we have Norman the gang of gnomes, the merman who lived at the pool, and the one guy who had a very creepy obsession with sock puppets. Need I go on?" Dipper listed.

"I can safely say that I am not any of those things. I'm just your average 14-year-old boy who goes on adventures with his eccentric grandpa, writes them down and posts them on this site" Morty assured.

"Reading your stuff, it sounds like your grandpa and our Grunkle Stan would be great friends" Mabel pointed out.

"There's plenty more where that came from. I haven't even scratched the surface yet" Morty built up, and the three went on and on, trading stories about their respective adventures.

"You know, if that portal gun can take you anywhere, you should come down to California to visit" Mabel suggested.

"Doubtful. Rick's the one in control of the portal gun, I just tag along for the ride" Morty dismissed.

"Doesn't he have a spare?" Mabel inquired. Morty went down to the garage to check, but Rick and Kilstone had already left for whatever caper they had planned. He searched the drawers and did indeed find a spare portal gun, with a note on it:

'Restricted to Earth use. Not for interplanetary travel. That means you, Morty'

Morty went back upstairs where Dipper and Mabel were waiting on his laptop.

"How about that. Rick did have a spare, but it can't take us off-world" Morty answered.

"That's fine. We're not big on space travel, anyway" Mabel replied.

"Yeah, not since we got forced into futuristic gladiatorial combat in an arena overseen by a literal giant baby" Dipper added. Morty fiddled with the controls until he found the setting that programmed a destination. He thought he had better first tell his parents where he was heading.

"I hope you don't mind. I'm going to visit some pen pals of mine using Rick's spare portal gun" Morty said to Beth and Jerry.

"Dad had a spare portal gun? News to me. As long as it's not too far and you come back in time for dinner" Beth outlined.

"You having friends is news to me" Summer snarked.

"It's just to California and back. This spare can't take me off-world. Besides, you'd like Dipper and Mabel" Morty responded.

"A little girlfriend, huh? My boy's becoming a man" Jerry teased.

"It's nothing like that, Dad. I'll be back before dinner" Morty promised, and portalled out.

When Rick and Kilstone arrived on Vegassian Prime, they found it exactly as they expected; packed with gamblers playing the various games. They deduced that it would be very easy indeed to walk around the populace un-noticed, which is exactly what they needed in this situation.

"OK, one more time. Find the manager, explain what's going on and get out. Try to avoid talking to anyone. For all we know, the cult may have spies here already" Kilstone briefed.

"Not my first rodeo, chief" Rick acknowledged, and the two split up in different directions, to throw off any would-be spies. They managed to make their way to the manager's office without drawing suspicion, but Rick could not help but notice the odd stare pointed in his direction. Whether it was his reputation or his latest stunt at the Astral Arena, he could not be certain, but it didn't stop him from feeling a little paranoid.

When Rick and Kilstone arrived at the manager's office, after being waved through security by a contact of Kilstone's, they arrived to find the manager dead, sprawled over his desk. Standing over the body was a figure almost familiar to Rick.

"Bird-person?" Rick asked, not sure what he was seeing. He looked like Bird-person, but it was evident some modifications had been made.

"Identifying target; Rick Sanchez. Proceeding with kill order" Phoenix-person said, in a robotic way. When he got out his weapons and opened fire, Rick and Kilstone darted out of the room, the weapons fire barely missing them and took cover behind some blackjack tables.

"You know that guy?" Kilstone quizzed.

"I used to. Apparently, death didn't agree with him" Rick mused. He peeked to find either an escape route or something he could use to disable his assailant. After all, they were close friends once. Kilstone took some comfort in knowing that all the gamblers had ran for the exits when the shooting started, so there would be no collateral damage. Rick eyed the sprinkler system and thought that setting it off would damage the cybernetic components on Bird-person's body long enough to knock him out-cold. Thankfully, getting a fire should be easy.

"Over here, Chicken Little" Rick goaded, and Phoenix-person opened fire. All Rick had to do was keep dodging weapons fire long enough for a fire to start, but it was no use. All the weapons were projectile-based. Kilstone caught on to Rick's plan and made for the kitchens. He used the stove to set fire to a piece of debris, headed back to the main room with it and held the flaming wood to the sprinklers, which set them off. The water did its job, causing Phoenix-person to stutter and pace sporadically. Rick used this opportunity to subdue his assailant, and together with Kilstone and an unconscious Phoenix-person, portalled back to his garage to run some tests.

"That was way too close. Good thinking with the sprinklers, Rick" Kilstone complimented. Rick was too busy working on Phoenix-person to respond. Connecting Phoenix-person's cybernetic implants to his own laptop, he was able to deactivate the program forcing Phoenix-person to kill Rick and get a hold of a copy of the code they initially came for. It was obvious that Phoenix-person saved a copy on the orders of whoever issued the kill order in the first place, most likely the cult.

"My contact will want to know of this development. He has been interested in our endeavours since I told him this story" Kilstone added.

"Can we trust him?" Rick inquired.

"I think so. He's been living in a place called Gravity Falls for some time now and was there when Bill first invaded. I just need to meet him in person" Kilstone answered.

"There's a spare portal gun I use for Earth travel in the drawer" Rick directed. Kilstone opened the drawer to find a note, instead of the portal gun.

"Dear Rick. I borrowed your spare portal gun to visit some pen pals in California. Will return it when I get back. Morty" Kilstone read aloud. Upon hearing this, Rick went to ask Beth and Jerry what was going on.

"Yeah, Morty went to visit his friends Dipper and Mabel Pines in California just after you left. He'll be back in time for dinner" Beth explained. Rick was surprised and shocked, not at the fact that Morty took his portal gun, but upon hearing the name 'Pines'. Rick then retreated to his garage.

"Don't worry. Morty will be back with the spare portal gun before dinner. You can meet your contact then. Out of curiosity, how much does he know?" Rick inquired.

"Upon landing here, I searched for Bill on your Internet and found an online newspaper article about an incursion of strange creatures led by a triangle shaped chaos god. I put two and two together and did some digging. When I asked the people, who lived in Gravity Falls to elaborate further, they were very tight-lipped, all but one person. We talked more, traded stories and he wants to help however he can" Kilstone elaborated.

"OK, fine. But you're responsible for him" Rick reasoned. Kilstone acknowledged this. Rick then began a search on his laptop for the name 'Pines'. What turned up was a cavalcade of stories relating to two mystery twins who, according to these sources, brought down a fraudulent psychic bent on taking over an entire town, opened a previously elite exclusive party to the public and chased away all sorts of strange creatures.

"Yep, this is Stanford's family, alright" Rick mused to himself.

In California, more specifically, Piedmont, Dipper and Mabel gave Morty a tour of their home town. Along the way, Morty got to know Dipper and Mabel a lot more. Morty learned that Mabel liked to knit her own sweaters when she wasn't writing her own stories, although Morty had to question why anyone would need sweaters in California. She also liked to play mini-golf and ride horses. Morty found himself drawn to her. Sure, Jessica was nice, but Morty felt like he could relate to Mabel. Dipper, too, but Mabel had two things going for her; she was a girl and she was single.

That is not to say Morty didn't like Dipper's company. In fact, both he and Dipper shared their longing for everyday life. Adventures and mysteries were fun, but Morty and Dipper both appreciated the odd day when nothing happened. Also, both Dipper and Morty were fans of Dungeons, Dungeons and more Dungeons, something Morty had previously kept secret for fear of ridicule. For the first time in ages, Morty felt like he had real friends.

"And that's how we defeated Gideon" Mabel had finished telling the story of how she and Dipper had gotten the supposed psychic in prison and saved the Mystery Shack, their home for that summer.

"I think you may have glamorised me fighting that robot a bit too much. It was Gideon in a suit, I wasn't fighting the actual robot" Dipper clarified.

"Yeah, but fighting robots is cooler" Mabel rebutted. The trio laughed away the day, until the time came for Morty to return home.

"Say, if you two don't have plans, you could come join me for dinner. I can show you the garage where all the magic happens" Morty invited. Eager to spend more time with their new friend, the Pines twins got parental consent to go, and Morty portalled them to his home.

"As far as our folks are concerned, we're just a few neighbourhoods away. I don't fancy explaining portal tech to them" Dipper said and marvelled at the garage. Rick had brought home a cybernetic bird that seemed to be out-cold. This did not phase Morty one bit, after all, he was used to this.

"Another bounty hunter tried to kill you again, I see" Morty greeted Rick.

"Just another day at the office. By the way, Kilstone needs the portal gun you borrowed" Rick outlined. Morty handed Kilstone the portal gun and Kilstone portalled out.

"Just so long as I can get these two back before sundown" Morty responded. Rick had been so busy working on his latest project, that he didn't notice Dipper and Mabel were in his garage.

"Don't tell me, Pines twins. I've been doing some reading. Good start, but you'll never be at my level when it comes to adventures" Rick boasted.

"Yep, definitely reminds me of Grunkle Stan" Dipper summarised.

"Which one, the con-man or his twin brother?" Morty quizzed.

"If I had to guess, I'd say he has Ford's brain and Stan's personality" Mabel theorised. At that moment, Jerry popped his head into the garage to let everyone know it's time for dinner.

"Are those Dipper and Mabel? We've heard so much about you. Please, join us" Jerry offered, and Dipper, Mabel, Morty and Rick sat down to eat.

"So, tell me. How did you meet?" Beth asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Yes, I'm rather intrigued to know this myself" Rick added. Morty knew, deep down, that it could not remain a secret forever.

"You know that creative writing assignment I got a few days ago? Well, I kind of posted it online on ArtSpace. Mabel read it, we got to talking, she introduced me to Dipper and the rest is history" Morty elaborated.

"I neither know nor care what ArtSpace is" Rick said flatly.

"It's a website where users post their drawings and/or stories for other people to see. Sometimes colleges such as California Arts use it as a means of identifying talent and offer scholarships to the users whose pieces they really like" Summer explained.

"Thinking about a career already, Morty?" Jerry inquired.

"Not really, it's something I've been doing for fun" Morty answered.

"I can think of worse hobbies, like bringing intergalactic gangsters home with you" Jerry jibed at Rick.

"He's not even here at the moment, cut him some slack" Rick countered.

"Not now, you two. We have guests" Beth calmed the situation. The family and friends ate in peace, until Mabel noticed something in Morty's pocket.

"Is that a flier in your pocket?" Mabel asked.

"Maybe he's just happy to see you" Summer joked.

"No, it's an actual flier. I got it from some cult wierdo on an adventure. I've been meaning to throw it out, but I never found the time" Morty clarified and got it out. Mabel unfolded it and recoiled in horror. Dipper looked at it and saw what had caused Mabel such distress.

"Bill. What's he doing on this thing?" Dipper inquired.

"Who's Bill?" Morty counter-asked.

"He's nobody. Do me a solid and throw that thing away and pretend you never saw it" Rick replied, rather quickly.

"Nobody? He tried to kill us all summer. He reduced our summer hometown into an apocalyptic wasteland. It took everything we had to stop him from global domination" Dipper countered. Now Rick was very intrigued.

"You two have fought Bill and lived to tell about it? Maybe I misjudged you. Could I see you and your friends after dinner, Morty? We have things to discuss" Rick requested. Morty obliged, but he wasn't liking this. Rick had not been acting like his usual, grumpy self since the Astral Arena, and Morty was keen to know why. Once in the garage, Rick lay it all out.

"This cult I've been after isn't your usual gathering of wack-jobs or 'leaders' looking to take you for all you're worth. They're militant, and worship Bill as a god" Rick briefed.

"Hate to break it to you, but Bill's dead. We took care of that ourselves" Dipper pointed out.

"Yes, this cult is well aware of the phenomenon known as Wierdmageddon, and they believe Bill's stone body is somewhere, waiting to be restored to his former power, and that they have the means to do it" Rick added.

"Then they're crazier than Bill was" Mabel responded.

"Are they? The cult sent this bird-borg on the table to kill me at Vegassian Prime, and he has one half of the location codes to Bill's body in his memory banks. Trust me, they're determined" Rick outlined.

"Where's the other half of the code?" Morty asked.

"On the Citadel, and no, you can't come with me to get it. That's a suicide mission" Rick answered. Morty thought that now was the time for answers.

"Rick, you've been acting very differently since the arena. You were on about Ricks and Morties doing everything together and now you're pushing me to the side. What gives?!" Morty half asked, half demanded.

"Bill and anything associated with him are very dangerous. I won't put you in harm's way" Rick asserted.

"We do dangerous things all the time. What's so special about this time?" Morty further pressed.

"I won't lose anyone to Bill! Not again!" Rick cried.

"What does that mean?!" Morty interrogated.

"The day I invented the portal gun, was the day Bill and his nightmares killed my wife" Rick sobbed. The tone in the room suddenly shifted from confrontational, to shocking. Unbeknownst to everyone in the garage, Beth was by the door and had heard what was said. She decided to come in.

"Dad, I'm only going to ask this once. What happened to my mother?" Beth probed. Rick had been keeping this in for far too long.

"I didn't invent the portal gun by myself. I needed help, so I made a deal with Bill" Rick confessed.

Author's note: The next chapter of this story will be a flashback chapter, but that will have to wait, because Friday 13th is coming around and I swore to myself I would write a MML fic for that day. Don't worry, once I'm done with that, this story will continue. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon and Adult Swim own Rick and Morty, and Alex Hirsch and Disney own Gravity Falls. Enjoy.


	4. Secrets of a Sanchez

**Secrets of a Sanchez**

Upon hearing that Rick had made a deal with Bill in the past, lights clicked on in Dipper and Mabel's heads.

"Don't tell us, he told you he was a muse, that chose one mind a century to inspire" Dipper postulated.

"How'd you know?" Rick asked.

"Because he told our great uncle Stanford that same drek. He's nothing but a con artist" Dipper replied.

"A con artist with demonic powers and little regard for human life, which makes him very dangerous" Rick added.

"We're getting off track here. What deal did you make with him?" Morty inquired.

"It was twenty years ago. I was an aspiring scientist, hoping to make a name for myself, and to make enough money to see Beth secured" Rick reminisced.

Flashback begins:

A younger Rick Sanchez was in the garage, pouring over research notes and schematics. No matter how much he tried, he could not perfect the formula necessary to allow interdimensional wormholes to open. It was his hope that, if he did, he could sell the patents to researchers in Switzerland or somewhere. But he needed a working prototype first. Fame and fortune were not Rick's motivators, however. He wanted to give Beth, his daughter, the life she deserved, not the one she lives now, where they're barely scraping by. His wife, Diane, came into his workshop.

"Rick, dear. Maybe you should give it a rest for now. Maybe some sleep will help clear your head" Diane suggested.

"I'm close, I can feel it. Just a little more and I'll have the answer" Rick rebutted. Diane's tone shifted from supportive wife to worried mother.

"Rick, if you keep putting your projects ahead of your family, Beth is going to resent you for it. She needs her daddy" Diane pressed.

"Don't you see? It is because of you and Beth that I must carry on. This could be our ticket to a better life for us" Rick argued.

"The one we have now is all I need. Now come on, dinner's almost ready" Diane soothed. Rick really wanted to continue working, but his grumbling stomach told him otherwise. Reluctantly, Rick sat down to dinner with his family. Beth had just started high school and was eager to tell her parents how it went.

"I still have some classes with my friends from middle school, but for the most part I'll be with new people for the year. The teachers seem alright, but one or two looked disinterested in their work and us" Beth recounted.

"Make any new friends?" Diane probed, as all mothers did.

"Yeah, a whole bunch. There was this one guy who seemed a little, how do I put this? Oh yeah, clingy. He was on me like a lost puppy. I think his name is Jerry" Beth answered.

"Maybe he just has a thing for you. Give him a chance, I'm sure he'll grow on you" Diane assured.

"Still, if he gets too much, you know where to kick him" Rick added. Diane did not think this was appropriate at the dinner table; but passed it off as the concerns of a father for his daughter. Once the family was finished eating, Rick retreated to the garage to continue work on his latest project. While Beth was hoping to tell her father more about her first day at high school, she was used to this behaviour from him and went to her room to retire for the night. Diane took this opportunity to confront Rick about his workaholic nature.

"Even Beth is starting to notice you're too attached to your science. Keep this up and you risk losing everything" Diane cautioned Rick. Rick was tired of having this same discussion over and over again, so he relented.

"There's more to this, Diane. This was the last project that one of my brightest students, Perry Flynn, was working on, before he died. I thought, if I could complete his work, then he could finally know peace. That's why I'm working extra hard on this. Not just for you and Beth, or me, but for him, so I can give his family closure" Rick exposited. Diane did not know how to react to this.

"Well, if you feel tired, the bed is waiting, as will I" Diane concluded before going to their room. Rick stayed in the garage, working a few hours longer, before going to bed himself.

That night, Rick had a most peculiar dream. He was standing in his old lecture theatre, but there were no students, and nothing was on the board either. Come to think of it, even his desk was empty. As soon as Rick took note of his surroundings, a triangle-like figure drew itself onto the board and, as quickly as the outline appeared, the rest of it came into being. Rick had no idea what this thing was, but he already had a bad feeling about it.

"Hi there, teach. Little stuck?" the figure inquired.

"What the…who are you?" Rick asked, startled by the figure.

"Name's Bill Cipher, and I'm here to help you with your portal problem" introduced Bill. He went on to explain how he inspired one mind a century and chose the cleverest of humanity to help guide them into a new age. Apparently, he inspired a lot of humanity's greatest works, from the pyramids of Giza, obviously in his image, to the Industrial Revolution, to philosophers such as Socrates and Plato.

"And now you've chosen me? I'm honoured" said Rick.

"Not so fast, smart guy. Remember, this is a dream. Once you wake up, you'll forget everything. I can give you the formula you need, but in order to make it stick in your mind, you'll have to let me in" Bill explained. Rick was put off by this. He had never let anyone in his mind before and was unsure of what it would be like or if there were any repercussions. Still, this was the break he had been waiting for and he had run out of patience trying to solve this on his own.

"Alright then" Rick conceded. Bill offered his hand, and they shook on it. Rick felt the formula burn into his brain, but it didn't hurt. He woke up with a start and, to his surprise, could still remember the formula Bill gave him.

"Something wrong?" Diane inquired.

"Strange dream, but a good one" Rick replied, and Diane nodded off again. Rick said a silent thank you to his new friend and went back to sleep.

Over the next few days, Rick had been working on his project, as usual, only this time, armed with the formula Bill etched into his mind, he was making serious headway. The garage played host to a working prototype of an interdimensional portal, but after another dream visit from Bill, Rick suggested they could make the device smaller, something that could fit into your pocket. After some modifications, Rick had built the world's first portal gun.

"Finally, it's finished" Rick congratulated himself. He wanted to show Diane and Beth, but thought that he should test it first, to see if it works. He activated it for the first time, and a wormhole opened, to parts unknown to Rick. He stepped through, unsure of what he would find. When he emerged, he saw what seemed like a typical bar, but the patrons were nothing like what you would see on Earth. All sorts of aliens were dotted around the place, serving liquids in strange colours, including a few combinations Rick had never seen before. Rick had made for the door to see what was outside this, to be perfectly frank, seedy-looking dive, but a figure looking humanoid walked through, and made a beeline for Rick. Before Rick could step back through the portal he created, the figure grabbed him and pinned him to the floor.

"Hey, what's your problem?!" Rick demanded, but the figure ignored his shouting and took a light to his eyes. After the unscheduled eye check, the figure got off Rick and pulled him up.

"First you pin me to the floor, then shine a light in my eyes and now you're being friendly. What gives?" Rick pressed.

"Sorry. I had to be sure it was really you" the figure apologised, rather half-heartedly, Rick noted.

"Who else would I be?" Rick probed.

"Not important. What is important is how you made that portal" the figure ducked the question.

"With this" Rick answered, and he showed the strange man his portal gun.

"No offence, but there's no way you invented this by yourself. Who helped you?" the stranger interrogated.

"To be honest, I have no idea who or what he is. All I know is his name; Bill Cipher" Rick revealed. The sound of Bill's name made the stranger shudder.

"So, he got you to finish his work. Did he tell you he was a muse that chose one mind a century to inspire? Or did he offer you the means to complete your research?" the stranger further probed. Now Rick was intrigued.

"How do you know that?" Rick half asked, half demanded.

"Because he told me the same garbage! Bill is a maniac, looking to cross his dimension with ours so he can take over everything! With that portal gun you have, he can do exactly that!" the stranger explained, and he and Rick sat down at a nearby table, where the stranger explained more about his history with Bill. Rick could not believe it. He had been duped into creating a weapon by someone he thought was a friend. He made a decision to go back and protect his family. If what the stranger said was true, Bill would go to any lengths to get his hands on the portal gun.

"Before I go, I never got your name" Rick inquired.

"It's Stanford Pines, and I never got yours" Stanford answered. Rick introduced himself, before stepping through the portal. It was night-time, and Diane had already gone to sleep, as had Beth. Rick went to sleep and sure enough, Bill was there waiting for him in his dreams.

"Bill! I just ran into Stanford Pines and he told me everything! What's this about nightmare realms and world domination?!" Rick confronted Bill. Having been found out, Bill took a different tone than usual.

"So, you met one of my previous suckers. Yes, I have plans for your world. Big plans. Safe to say, me and my pals will have a rollercoaster of a time when we arrive, right guys?" Bill taunted, and the shadows behind him all cackled in glee.

"Not if I destroy the portal gun, you won't" Rick countered, and woke up. He was about to smash the portal gun into pieces, when he saw Diane get up. She turned around, but to Rick's horror, her eyes were different. The pupils had been replaced with vertical slits, like a snake, and the voice that came out of her mouth wasn't her own.

"This is a short demonstration of what I can do, Sanchez!" Bill threatened, and Diane collapsed. Rick dialled 911 and after 10 minutes, the paramedics arrived, but try as they did, Diane would not revive. She was pronounced dead at the scene, all the while Beth, who had woken up in the commotion, saw and heard everything, tears streaming down her face.

"Mum" was all Beth could manage before breaking down. Rick held her tight, hoping to comfort both Beth and himself. Rick gave her something to help her sleep and once she had gotten back to bed, Rick took another invention he had, one that erased and stored memories and erased Beth's memory of what just happened. Taking Diane's DNA, Rick made a clone of her with false memories of a bitter divorce to keep Beth company. He activated the portal gun and left his home for good.

After ensuring the body of his real wife was not seen by anyone else, Rick erased the memories of the paramedics that saw her and implanted them with a false memory of having treated an elderly fall victim at her home, Rick set off to find Stanford Pines, the man who had warned him about Bill. Once he did, the two formed an alliance, postulating ideas about anti-Bill weapons and defences, culminating in Project Mentem, a machine that could bio-electrically encrypt thoughts, making them difficult to read, and the quantum destabiliser, which would only be used if Bill made it to the real world.

Years and years went by, while Rick and Stanford worked on building their inventions. Sometimes they would need to steal parts they needed from Federation armories. Rick had had more than a fair few run-ins with the Galactic Federation, but it was enough for Rick to not like them at all. Neither, for the most part, did Stanford. Then again, despite working with the man all this time, Stanford was still a big mystery to Rick. He got the impression that, like him, Stanford had left loved ones behind on Earth. Nearly two decades of their escapades, which earned them bounties worth plenty alive, but more dead, Stanford stepped through a portal that appeared out of no-where, and Rick was alone again. He resolved to go back to Earth and help Stanford fight Bill, but by the time he did, it was too late. Bill was defeated, or so he had heard through unofficial channels. Finally, Rick thought, he could go back to rebuild his relationship with his family and returned to the Sanchez home once more.

Flashback ends

"And that's all of it. I came back because I thought Bill was dead and it would be safe for me to be around" Rick concluded. The rest of the family were in shock, especially Beth, who had just learned that, for a few years, the mother she knew was a clone, and that the real Diane Sanchez was murdered by some dream demon her own father had worked with.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to be alone right now" Beth said, sadly, and she went to her and Jerry's room. The rest of the family knew not to follow her. Morty decided to speak to Rick first.

"As long as we're spilling secrets, I have one of my own" Morty confessed. He got his laptop and showed Rick his ArtSpace profile. Rick looked through Morty's stories and noticed the similarities.

"You've been writing down our adventures in the guise of stories?" Rick wondered.

"It started as a creative writing assignment, then Jessica suggested I put them online after I got an 'A', it's how I met Mabel" Morty explained. Contrary to what Morty expected, Rick was not mad. Far from it, Rick had a small smile on his face.

"You do realise, of course, that I get half the profits from any book or movie deals, right?" Rick joked. The two shared a somewhat weak laugh, until it was time to take Dipper and Mabel home. Rick opened up a portal for them straight to their bedroom in Piedmont. Dipper walked through first, but Mabel hung back for a bit to talk to Morty.

"You know, it's almost like destiny. My great uncle and your grampa working together to take down Bill and now us becoming friends. Almost like some invisible force binding our families together" Mabel mused.

"Maybe destiny has a plan for us, too" Morty postulated, rather nervously.

"Really? What do you think it could be?" Mabel wondered, teasingly. Even Morty, who had little experience in this sort of thing, knew where this was heading.

"Gotta tell you, Mabel, I'm not very good at this" Morty revealed.

"Don't worry, I'll lead" Mabel offered. Dipper had poked his head through the portal to see what was taking so long, but Morty and Mabel did not see this.

"Mabel, this portal is not going to stay open forever" Dipper said, bluntly, only to be greeted by a sight he never wanted to see again. After half a minute of seeing Morty and Mabel kiss, Dipper cleared his throat. "So, you going to take your tongue out of my sister's throat long enough for her to come back?" Dipper asked rhetorically.

"Says the guy whose first kiss was a merman" Mabel teased.

"We agreed never to bring that up again!" Dipper shot back and the three laughed, until Dipper and Mabel finally returned home. When the portal closed, Rick came into Morty's room.

"Those friends of yours are alright" Rick complimented.

"Yeah, Mabel seems especially nice" Morty agreed. From his tone, Rick deduced what had just happened prior to his coming in.

"You might want to rein it in a bit. She is a Disney character, so you can forget about getting her to spread her legs" Rick joked.

"Rick!" Morty exclaimed.

"Goodnight, Morty. Try not to think about her too much" Rick mocked and left the room.

"Yep, he's back to normal" Morty remarked and went to sleep.

Back in the garage, Rick was working on the cybernetic implants on Bird-person, when he awoke with a start.

"Rick, we have a problem" the newly introduced Phoenix-person addressed Rick.

"Trust me, whatever you plan to tell me, I already know" Rick responded and the two spent the night discussing their next move against the cult.

Author's note: It is really hard to summon the motivation to write fics when you're baking alive in your home country that is, at the time, experiencing extreme heat. Seriously, I was sweating buckets. Anyway, once the temperature came down, I got to work on this. Apologies if I didn't go into Rick and Stanford's history like you expected, I just really wanted to get this done a.s.a.p, since it had been weeks since I submitted anything. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. Adult Swim, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon own Rick and Morty, and Disney and Alex Hirsch own Gravity Falls. Enjoy.


	5. Dates and deceptions

**Dates and deceptions**

The weekend arrived with much thinking about the story Rick told the day before; about how Bill killed his wife, Beth's mother and Morty and Summer's grandmother. The revelation had been especially hard on Beth, who just realised that the mother she had known since Rick vanished was a clone, and that Rick had modified her memory. She wanted to be mad at Rick for this, but after hearing about what Bill could do, thought that she would've done the same thing in her father's position. She also did not want to make her father relive those sad memories, so they agreed to leave the matter dead and buried.

Morty, too, also resolved to leave Rick alone for the time being, instead choosing to webchat with Mabel. In Morty's mind, the kiss they shared was not a one-time thing.

"Is your family alright?" Mabel asked, concerned for the Smith clan.

"Mostly. We all knew Rick had secrets, but not any that hit this close to home. He's found a way to distract himself from it by planning his next move against the Pythian Cult" Morty explained.

"Given everything you told me about him, it's surprising he hasn't beaten them yet" Mabel said.

"I think Rick's saving his best for what would come should they succeed. From everything you've told me about Bill, it sounds like he'll need every weapon in his arsenal and then some" Morty postulated.

"What we need is a distraction of our own" Mabel suggested.

"About that, I was thinking we could, you know, spend some one-on-one time together" Morty probed.

"What, like a date?" Mabel wondered.

"Well, we did make out" Morty reminded Mabel.

"That we did. I know the perfect place. The beaches here in California are amazing. We should totally go there" Mabel offered.

"Sounds like a date. I'll just get the portal gun off Rick and I'll see you soon" Morty confirmed and went to the garage. In the garage, Rick and the newly deprogrammed Phoenix-person were discussing strategy.

"That won't work. According to Kilstone, the Citadel's on near-lockdown. We try anything there, and scores of cultists will be ready to shoot us in thirty seconds" Rick dismissed. Phoenix-person had suggested going to the Citadel to warn the other Ricks of the coming threat.

"They must have bases on other planets, traitors in the ranks, anything we can exploit" Phoenix-person responded.

"Fanatics such as these guys usually stay in one place and surround themselves with people just as demented as they are" Rick countered. Just then, Kilstone portalled into the garage, bringing with him a stranger.

"Gentlemen, this is Albert Stevens. He was at Gravity Falls when Bill invaded and has agreed to help us combat the cult" Kilstone introduced. Rick, being Rick, was cautious about the newcomer.

"You sure about him?" Rick probed.

"You don't get to be a thousand-year prisoner of Bill without knowing how he thinks, and if this cult Kilstone described is anything like him, you need all the help you can get" Albert answered.

"A thousand years, huh? That must mean you've got a real axe to grind, which is fine by me" Rick concluded. Phoenix-person was giving Albert a once-over with his scanners.

"Analysis indicates this person is not native to this dimension, nor does he resemble a nightmare creature" Phoenix-person summarised.

"Where I come from is irrelevant. All that should matter is stopping the cult and preventing Bill's rise" Albert said.

"I didn't ask for your origin story, anyway. Spiderman Homecoming saved us the origin story and that turned out fine" Rick added.

"If we're done, do we have a plan?" Kilstone inquired.

"No, not yet. We have objectives, but no means to implement them. Either finding Bill's body first or informing the Rick populace what the cult is doing. Easier said than done" Rick answered. In the middle of their briefing, Morty walked into the garage and noticed the extra person.

"Rick, Dad is already nervous about the former gangster in our garage, now this guy. You're turning your workshop into a war council" Morty observed.

"If that's what it takes to stop global Armageddon, then yes, the garage is now a war room. What do you want, anyway?" Rick asked.

"Could I borrow the Earth-exclusive portal gun? I have a beach date with Mabel today" Morty inquired.

"Morty, I told you, she's a Disney character. Also, the person writing this story has stated multiple times that he won't write anything above a T rating, but if it gets you out the house for a little while then go ahead" Rick outlined and handed Morty the portal gun meant for Earth travel. Morty went to his room to get his beach gear and portalled himself to California. The rest of the war council kept discussing alternate strategies, to no avail, as they could not come up with a plan with the acceptable margin of error they needed, so Rick tabled it for now.

On a California beach, Morty and Mabel got into their beach gear and set up their spot far away from the rest of the populace, to get time to themselves. Mabel had asked Morty to apply sunscreen to her back, and while he was applying it, Morty tried his hardest not to get aroused.

"I'm all done, could you do me?" Morty requested, and Mabel did the same for him. "So, what's Dipper up to?" Morty asked, trying to make small talk.

"He and Grunkle Ford are trying to hold the world's first game of Dungeons, Dungeons and more Dungeons played over instant messaging. I got bored, so I didn't ask how it was going" Mabel answered.

"Inventive, but it lacks the personal touch" Morty evaluated.

"Speaking of games, look what I brought" Mabel presented a beach volleyball set and beach balls, along with racquets in case they wanted to play beach tennis instead. Once they started playing, Morty and Mabel found they were both equally playful, competitive and skilled at the games. Finally, Mabel and Morty got hungry and spotted a hot dog stand that served ice cream and cold drinks. Morty bought the pair lunch and they sat down at a table to eat.

"Admit it, I nearly had you those last few rounds" Morty teased.

"OK, OK. Maybe having a brother that beats you at everything made me more than a little competitive" Mabel conceded.

"A little? You almost hit our ball into the sea five times in one game" Morty observed.

"Details, who needs them?" Mabel rebutted. They finished their lunch and spotted a mini-golf course over the road. Mabel suggested they head over and play the course. Morty agreed, not knowing how good Mabel was at mini-golf. Her skill quickly became apparent after the three holes-in-one in a row.

"I take it you get straight A's in geometry" Morty stated.

"Nope, that's Dipper's area of expertise. Besides, we've both developed a serious aversion to triangles since Wierdmageddon" Mabel replied. Morty knew that was a sensitive subject for Mabel, so he changed the topic of conversation.

"So, there is one thing you can beat your brother at then?" Morty probed.

"My brother, Grunkle Stan and pretty much everyone else I come across, except one person" Mabel recounted.

"Who?" Morty wondered.

"Pacifica Northwest. She was trained by a professional, the best her parents could afford" Mabel responded.

"Forgive me, but I've always hated the 1%, flaunting their money around like they're better than the rest of us" Morty said.

"She's not that bad, just a product of her environment. Why, last summer, we invited her to our 13th birthday party after…the incident" Mabel recollected.

"I guess some people are open to change" Morty conceded, and they finished their game, with Mabel the obvious winner. They went back to their spot and decided to go into the ocean. They had fun, getting into splash fights and showing off various strokes. After a while, they went back to their spot to dry off and re-apply sunscreen. Morty and Mabel were lying on their beach towel, exhausted from the day's activities.

"Morty, I gotta say, I've never really been on a date before now. This has been the best day ever" Mabel complimented.

"Me neither, and I wouldn't give this up for anything. You're a really cool girl, Mabel" Morty replied and the two leaned in for another kiss. Morty had decided, at this moment, that he was completely over Jessica. She could never bring him the kind of happiness and joy Mabel could. When Morty opened his eyes to break apart from their make-out session, his eyes were greeted by a sight he could not expect. A woman was towering over them, with what looked like a plasma pistol pointed at him.

"Oh, holy crap!" Morty recoiled. Mabel turned around quickly to see their uninvited guest with the firearm for herself.

"Get me to Rick Sanchez" the woman, now known to be Tammy, demanded.

"I know you! You killed Bird-person at that phony wedding! You worked with the Federation to grab my grandpa!" Morty confronted.

"Listen, kids. I don't have time to play twenty questions, so get me to Rick or I blast the girl!" Tammy threatened. Mabel look visibly scared.

"Alright, alright!" Morty surrendered, and he fired up the portal gun to take them to Rick's garage. Once the group were in Rick's garage, Rick himself was waiting for them, with the usual war council.

"Morty, what is this?" Rick asked, confused as to what's going on. When Tammy emerged, weapon in hand, Rick immediately assumed a defensive posture.

"Rick, it's not what it seems" Tammy shifted her tone from demanding to pleading.

"Yeah, well it looks like you're pointing a gun at my grandson's date and breaking and entering my workshop. Please, stop me if I'm off base anywhere" Rick metaphorically shot back at Tammy. At this point, Tammy lowered her sidearm and holstered it.

"There, better?" Tammy inquired.

"Do not trust her, Rick. She programmed me to retrieve the code and kill you under the cult's orders" Phoenix-person interjected.

"I was being monitored. Plus, I knew Phoenix-person would fail, and I programmed him only to retrieve the code, not transmit it to the Citadel, so the cult has no idea where Bill's body is" Tammy explained.

"And you just happened to choose this moment to betray them. Why should we trust you?" Kilstone interrogated.

"Look, I'll level with you. After the Federation fell, I went freelance, working as a mercenary to the highest bidder. So, when the cult came to my door with more money than I've seen in a long time, who was I to say no?" Tammy confessed.

"You willingly joined a cult that worships a chaos-spreading all-powerful maniac. In my experience, soldiers for hire are rarely trustworthy" Albert pointed out.

"They never mentioned anything about Bill when I met them. It was only after I did some enforcement work for them that I decided to do some research. That was when I found out about Bill and Gravity Falls. I knew, then, that I had made a horrible mistake, but I couldn't get out, so I stayed on the inside, trying to undermine them from within" Tammy exposited.

"You never thought to inform the Rick populace about what the cult was up to while you were undercover?" Morty asked.

"All internal and external transmissions in the Citadel are intercepted and edited to ensure the Ricks remain unaware. I couldn't risk blowing my cover" Tammy explained.

"So, we just need to inform the Ricks by some other means" Mabel concluded, and she began thinking, until finally, she had an idea. "Do they have ArtSpace on the Citadel?" Mabel inquired.

"The cult doesn't monitor internet traffic, something about their Mortys' internet history being too questionable to sift through" Tammy responded. Morty knew where Mabel was going with this.

"If we wrote a story that contained a cryptic message that only Ricks could understand, we could warn them while the cult remains unaware" Morty built upon Mabel's idea.

"There is a cipher that Ricks have developed in case something like this happened. We could embed it in one of my Morty's stories and encourage Ricks to read it" Rick added.

"It's risky, but we have no other option" Tammy said.

"Well, guess we better start writing" Morty addressed Mabel and the two of them went to Morty's bedroom with Rick and began their work. Once Morty had booted up his laptop, they began their story/warning.

"So, this is what we're reduced to, writing fanfiction to save the world" Rick remarked.

"At least it's better than Fifty Shades of Gray" Morty added. He had the story done, now all it needed was the cipher, which is where Rick took over.

"Haven't checked someone else's work since my teaching days. Makes me almost miss it" Rick reminisced. He added the cipher and Morty uploaded it to his account.

"Now all we need to do is ensure the Citadel Ricks read it" Mabel observed.

"No worries, there. I added a few keywords into the title that will automatically make it trending. No Rick can ignore the possibility of making fun of popular trends" Rick assured.

On the Citadel, the Rick populace were going about their daily lives, doing whatever function was assigned to them. There were some on the Citadel that grew weary of the cult's presence, but President Morty assured them that they were necessary as security, in case any remnant Federation forces dared attack the Citadel again. In the President's office, President Morty was meeting with his cult liaison.

"We're still no closer to finding Bill's body, and now it seems Tammy has gone A.W.O.L." informed the liaison.

"And Phoenix-person?" probed President Morty.

"Gone too. Last report says that Rick C-137 subdued him while he was out on his mission" the liaison briefed.

"We have to assume she and Phoenix-person are compromised. I've been tracing Tammy and it seems she's been doing some research into your god" President Morty reasoned.

"If that's true, then Rick C-137 must know what we intend to do" the liaison guessed.

"He knew that ages ago. That stunt in the Astral Arena was not your typical Rick behaviour. He's usually more of a showman" President Morty rebuffed.

"Do any other Ricks know?" asked the liaison. At that moment, a cultist barged into the office.

"Sirs, sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem" the cultist said urgently.

"What is it, now?!" the liaison asked, annoyed at this latest development.

"The Ricks are in an uproar. It seems someone told them what we intend to do. Something about a cryptic message in an ArtSpace story" the cultist answered.

"ArtSpace, huh? This narrows the search to one planet, Earth. Bill's body must be there" concluded President Morty. He reached for the intercom and buzzed the teleportation room. "Set a teleportation course to the Terran system. We're in the endgame now" Morty instructed the cultists working there. By the time the Citadel reached the edge of the system, all the Ricks had evacuated.

At the Smith house, in the garage, Rick had gotten a message from another Rick informing him of the situation on the Citadel.

"Seems Protocol Three has been enacted, that means all Ricks and their Morties evacuate to their home timelines and destroy their portal guns. However, the Citadel is now on the edge of this system and making its way here" Rick outlined.

"Then the final battle has begun" Phoenix-person stated. At that moment, a convoy of vehicles approached the garage entrance and out popped a person Rick never wanted to see again. It was the President of the United States himself, accompanied by his entourage and an armed escort, and the President did not look happy.

"Would any of you like to explain why NASA's just spotted a giant space station heading right for us?" the president demanded.

Author's note: Wow, summer is officially my worst season to write stuff in. Call me crazy, but I can't think in the heat. Plus, I had some RL issues that I really do not want to get into. Apologies if the ending seemed rushed, but I wanted to get this chapter out before I left for a cruise along the Norwegian coast on Friday. After that, I think I'll be more inspired to write the ending to this story, because I think, half the time, my writing problems come down to not knowing the source material that well and being afraid of not doing it any justice. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing. Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon and Adult Swim own Rick and Morty, and Alex Hirsch and Disney own Gravity Falls. Enjoy.


	6. Citadel conflict

**Citadel conflict**

No-one in the garage knew quite what to say at this point. All present had just witnessed the most powerful man in the world demanding answers and were left speechless as to what to tell him. Rick, being the most confident man in the room, broke the ice.

"Long story short, that station hurtling towards us carries an army of zealous wack-jobs that worship an all-powerful psychopath bent on universal domination and they're coming here in an attempt to restore him to power after he was beaten here the first time" Rick summarised. The president, understandably, was sceptical.

"You expect me to believe that something could invade U.S. soil without me noticing? Who do you think I am?" the president lambasted Rick.

"I can produce witnesses, if you like" Morty offered.

"Oh, this should be rich. Go on, little boy, tell us all a story about the monster under the bed" the president mocked. Morty, ignoring this, opened a portal and asked Dipper and Mabel to come through with evidence of Wierdmageddon. Dipper and Mabel came through the portal and explained what happened in Gravity Falls when Bill first invaded.

"I can corroborate their story. I was in Gravity Falls when it all went down" Albert added.

"Really? I don't remember seeing you around" Dipper recalled.

"I chose to hide in the woods where Bill's eye-bats wouldn't find me. Fortunately, I never became a part of his throne of horrors" Albert explained. The president went to his car to make some calls, notably to Mayor Tyler of Gravity Falls. After a minute of conversation, Mayor Tyler, having been briefed of the current situation, offered to give the president copies of recordings from various CCTV cameras. The president watched, to his horror, that the story was true. He came back to the garage, looking like he had seen his worst nightmares.

"And this cult wants to bring him back?" the president asked.

"And then some. They see him as some kind of saviour, but we don't know how they're going to do it" Rick answered.

"And I don't care. What matters is stopping them and their crazy plan" Albert added.

"Agreed, but how?" the president inquired.

"You know, Rick. We've been putting this off long enough. It's time to board the Citadel and get the other half of the codes" Kilstone suggested frankly.

"Codes? What codes?" the president asked.

"The reason the station is on its way here is because this cult believes Bill's body is here on Earth, they just don't know where. We have one half of Bill's location co-ordinates, they have the other" Rick explained.

"Then I know exactly what we do. The team that boards the station transmits their half of the code here after they've lifted it. Then we combine the two, book it to Bill's location, recover the statue and secure it before the cult finds it" the president briefed.

"One problem, do you know anywhere in America that is equipped to handle this threat?" Morty probed.

"Now that you mention it, no. Not even the CIA knows how to tackle extra-terrestrial and paranormal threats" the president answered.

"Then, if I may, Mr. President, may I suggest you form an institute dedicated to fighting such threats?" Albert said.

"I agree. Even as a statue, Bill represents a major threat to not only America but the whole world and every world beyond. Trust me on that" Dipper pointed out.

"Say I did form such an institute, how in the world do I convince American taxpayers, the U.S. military and the darn Senate that this is a good idea without revealing Wierdmageddon to people?" the president hypothesised.

"Keep it secret, as best you can" Morty suggested.

"If that's the case, who do I put in charge? I would preferably want someone who has first-hand experience with Bill leading the fight, but the only ones I know of are two kids" the president countered.

"I would suggest our great uncles, but they're not the biggest fans of the government" Mabel observed.

"And Rick even less so" the president added.

"Which leaves you, Albert" Kilstone reasoned.

"What, me? No way! I'm the last person you want leading a super-secret institute. Besides, the president has only just met me" Albert rebuffed.

"Regardless, you are the only one that fits the criteria that I can legally hire. Besides, these kids have a school that will miss them if they're off leading this fight full-time" the president said. Confronted with this argument, Albert could not find anymore reason not to step up to bat.

"Alright, I'll do it. But I'll need personnel, equipment, a base" Albert listed.

"Whatever you need will be made available to you" the president assured.

"An institute of this scale will need a name. Something non-descript and discreet" Albert inferred. Everyone in the room gave it some thought, then Morty had a suggestion.

"Excalibur, after the invincible weapon wielded by King Arthur in defence of his kingdom" Morty piped up. The president gave this some thought, then agreed to the name idea.

"It's fitting. It will show Bill we will not give in to him. Very well, from this moment on, the Excalibur Institute is born" the president coronated Albert as captain, who in turn nominated Kilstone as his XO.

"When we're done playing spy, we have a mission to complete" Kilstone said in a rushed tone, and everyone got back to work. The president had people bring in communication equipment ready to receive the code, and Rick had assembled his team to go in the Citadel. Surprisingly, this did not include Morty.

"But you're always telling me Ricks and Morties do everything together" Morty complained.

"Listen, Morty. The president may say otherwise, but I recognise a textbook suicide mission when I see it. I don't want you involved. Ricks and Morties may do most things together but dying doesn't have to be one of them. You have a family, a life. I lost both a long time ago" Rick lamented.

"You're my family Rick" Morty argued.

"Yeah, the grandpa always putting you in harm's way, squatting in your garage and railing on your dad. I'm the black sheep, the family you can do without" Rick concluded. Morty knew better than to argue with Rick for very long. He knew from experience that Rick will do what he does anyway, regardless of what anyone else thought or said, so he tabled it.

"It's settled, then. Rick, Phoenix-person and Tammy will board the Citadel to get the codes and Albert and Kilstone will stay here to monitor the comm channels and stand ready to combine the two halves. I'll have a containment team ready to secure the statue when the transmission is received. Good luck, troops" the president finalised, and Rick and his team portalled their way onto the Citadel.

On the Citadel, President Morty was discussing the final plan with his cult liaison.

"Once we find the statue, we'll need a vessel to store Bill's power until he is strong enough to return in body" the liaison briefed.

"Have we found such a vessel?" President Morty asked.

"I believe we have. There is a boy on Earth who has a reputation for being cursed with chronic bad luck. He is the perfect vessel to use" the liaison answered.

"What do we know about him, besides his curse?" President Morty probed.

"Honestly, not a lot, but we have his image in our database. I can have an extraction team ready to retrieve him when we're close enough to Earth" the liaison summarised.

"We can't worry about this now. The other Ricks may have gone, but C137 may still try something. Put the Citadel on alert for any sign of him, no matter how insignificant" President Morty instructed. The liaison acknowledged this order and left to his business.

Back in the garage, Morty, Dipper and Mabel were comparing their odds of the mission's success and that the team would make it back in one piece.

"Rick's come back from tougher things than this and usually it's the other guy who ended up dead or severely maimed" Morty recollected.

"This is Bill we're talking about. All those other times you wrote about, Rick was confident he could take down his opponents. Now, I'm not so sure" Dipper cautioned.

"Yeah, Bill and anyone associated with him don't exactly know the meaning of the word 'mercy'" Mabel added. Morty considered these words and gave the Earth exclusive portal gun a look over.

"Maybe I can turn the restrictions off" Morty wondered to himself, when the president got a call from NASA.

"What now?!" the president demanded. NASA had spotted multiple portals forming above Earth, similar to the ones generated by portal guns, only much larger. From these portals, came spaceships that flew in the formation of a naval fleet, only in space. They did not make any aggressive stance towards the planet. Quite the opposite, they looked like they were taking a defensive stance. A communication was coming to the garage, from what can be safely assumed was the lead ship.

"Mr. President, this is Admiral Rick, of the fleet of Ricks. We've come to lend assistance. The admiralty board has unanimously agreed that the Citadel must not reach Earth under any circumstances and thus, authorised a military response" Admiral Rick addressed the president over the comms.

"Admiral Rick, this is the president. On behalf of the United States of America and her allies, I thank you for your assistance. I take it you've been briefed on the situation" the president replied.

"Yes, Mr. President. The board also believes that Bill is somewhere on your world, it just doesn't know where. You have any leads?" Admiral Rick probed.

"We have one half of the location codes and a team on the Citadel sent to transmit the other half. Once we combine them, we'll know where that trickster's hiding" the president said.

"Understood. We'll disable everything except communications and life support, and we'll send strike teams to assist your squad" Admiral Rick briefed. The president thanked Admiral Rick once again. The comm line was kept open to keep the fleet apprised of any changes to the plan in case they were needed. On the lead ship, Admiral Rick was giving orders to the other ships.

"Have the bulk of our fleet take defensive formations, while transport pods with SEAL teams prepare for boarding action. Fighter squads two, five, seven and ten will provide escort, while one, three, six and eight will lay down cover fire. Bomber squads will fly out first to destroy the Citadel's turrets" Admiral Rick directed, and various Ricks carried out those orders.

On the Citadel, Rick, Phoenix-person and Tammy boarded, surprisingly, without incident. While alarms were blaring, it didn't stem from their presence. Out the glass roof, Rick noticed the source of the disturbance.

"What's the Rick fleet doing here? I thought Protocol Three was enacted" Rick remarked.

"Isn't Protocol Three to summon the fleet?" Tammy asked. Rick thought about this and concluded he may have gotten the rules mixed up.

"Oh wait, retreating to the home timelines and destroying the portal gun is Protocol Nine" Rick realised.

"Enough, we have a mission to complete" Phoenix-person pressed, and the team got back to work. Rick was trying to remember where the communications array was from the last time he was here. Of course, leading the team to the array and avoiding the cultists was a difficult task. Granted, the Rick fleet's attack has put the cult on alert for the threat outside, rather than inside. Still, enough of the cult was stationed here so that guarding critical systems was still possible. They had encountered some resistance, but nothing Phoenix-person couldn't handle.

"The cult is distracted. If we are to transmit, it must be now" Phoenix-person urged the group onwards. After shooting through some more cultists using weapons Rick had stored away in the garage and had brought with him on the mission, they reached the comm array. When Tammy sliced the controls, something frustrated her.

"I got good news and bad news" Tammy said frankly.

"Give me the good news first" Rick instructed, hoping for an excuse to be optimistic for a change.

"Good news is, the code's still here" Tammy briefed.

"And the bad?" Phoenix-person asked.

"They've put them on a physical device, like the alien equivalent of a USB stick and hidden it somewhere on the Citadel. We'll have to search the entire complex" Tammy broke the bad news. Just then, the team felt the station shake. Tammy was watching the fleet battle on the monitors.

"Bomber squadrons have taken out defence turrets. What are those?" Tammy inquired. Rick saw the pods and knew what they were about to do.

"They're boarding the station" Rick observed.

"Maybe the teams can help us find the storage device" Phoenix-person suggested. The team ventured outside the comm array and met one of the teams after they had dispatched a few cultists.

"SEAL team Rick five at your service" the leader addressed.

"Your arrival is well-timed. The code we need to transmit is on a data storage device somewhere on the station. We need to find it and plug it in to get the codes to Excalibur" Tammy told the team.

"We'll instruct the other teams to be on the look-out and to report here should they find it" SEAL team Rick leader assured.

"I'll begin calibrating the array for transmission to the surface" Tammy said and got to work. The SEAL team they addressed was put on guard duty.

In the garage, Morty was pacing up and down, obviously nervous about the battle, or more specifically, anticipating the likely outcome that Rick wouldn't survive.

"You said it yourself, Rick's stronger than anyone gives him credit for. He'll make it through this and every other battle with Bill to come" Mabel tried to assure Morty, but he was not listening.

"Try to understand, Morty. Rick benched you for a reason. While I have every ounce of optimism that Rick will survive, all those times you mention, Rick was sure he'd make it back. Now, I think that Rick is the one who's more pessimistic about his odds of survival than you are" Albert piped up.

"Still, I don't like just sitting here doing nothing" Morty complained.

"Neither do I" Dipper agreed.

"They also serve those who sit and wait" the president quoted John Milton.

"I may need to familiarise myself with Earth authors if I'm to take up permanent residence here" Albert noted to himself.

"Goes for me too" Kilstone agreed.

"Wait, you two aren't from here?" the president probed.

"Regretfully, yes. I was a former intergalactic gangster who's been helping Rick fight the cult and Albert, as I understand it, is from another dimension entirely" Kilstone explained. The president took a few moments to process this new information. He eventually came to a decision.

"Since you two are helping us fight Bill and keep the planet safe, I'll grant you American citizenship with the names you've provided" the president decided. Albert and Kilstone thanked the president. Kilstone also assured the president that his gangster days were over and that his life on Earth would be a fresh start. Morty, on the other hand, was not so cheerful. In fact, he was determined to do something.

"I think I can turn the restrictions on this portal gun off for one portal. After that, I won't be able to come back, because the gun won't work off Earth" Morty pointed out. Mabel knew instinctively what he was planning.

"You can't be serious, Morty! You heard Rick, it's a suicide mission" Mabel pressed, desperate for Morty not to go.

"Mabel, if I don't, I'll never live it down. Rick may be an obnoxious douche, but he's still family. I have to help him" Morty argued. Mabel knew what is was like to go out of your way to help your family. She ruined the finale of her sock puppet play to save Dipper from Bill and broke out of her own personal paradise after her brother convinced her that growing up together was better than spending an eternity in a dreamland. Instead, Mabel wished him good luck, kissed him and watched as Morty portalled himself onto the Citadel. He had handed Mabel the portal gun, the actual restricted settings coming back online. Mabel stuck it in her pocket and found something else there. A USB stick with a note attached.

'In case I don't make it back, this has the last of my stories on it. Upload them for me' the note read. Attached was Morty's ArtSpace login details. Mabel didn't know what to feel. Aside from Mermando, Morty was the only boy she ever truly loved. The thought of losing him was unbearable.

On the Citadel, all hands were on deck to find the device the code was stored on. The SEAL team Ricks were searching the station from head to toe and came up empty. No-one noticed Morty portal himself in. He had overheard one of the teams mention the device and thought that it must be in the President's office. After all, the president was an exact duplicate of himself, just evil. He made his way to the office without either the Ricks or any cultists seeing him, obviously too focused on the battle both in space and on the station itself. He was searching President Morty's desk and found the device in a drawer, along with some files mentioning a vessel of some kind, when President Morty stepped in.

"Ah, Rick C137's Morty. Pleased to meet you, at last" President Morty mockingly greeted.

"Pleasure's all yours, I'm sure" Morty retorted.

"You know, you really shouldn't poke around where you don't belong. But what's to be expected. Morties are attached to their Ricks in a certain way, well, most of them" President Morty exposited.

"I take it you lost yours?" Morty interrogated.

"Lost, killed. Those are just words. What matters is I've seen a world, no, a multiverse, without Ricks, and it is glorious" President Morty said.

"Is that what Bill's offering you? Freedom from Ricks?" Morty probed.

"You know Rick, he does what he wants and doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything else. You've seen it first-hand, the chaos he causes. Join me, Morty" President Morty pleaded. While Morty knew that his evil clone did have a point, he knew from spending time with Mabel and Dipper that a universe under Bill's rule would be far worse than anything Rick could produce.

"Screw you!" Morty spat back in a final act of defiance and decked President Morty. Device in hand, he ran out the door, never looking back. One problem, he didn't know where the comm array was. He called out to Rick, hoping he could hear him. In the comm array, Rick could hear his Morty calling and ran out the door to be greeted by the sight of him.

"Morty, what are you doing here?!" Rick demanded. Morty was panting from having ran from the president's office. He produced the device. Rick gave it to Tammy and they were about to transmit when President Morty arrived with a lot of cultists.

"You have something that belongs to me. I'd like it back" President Morty goaded. Phoenix-person charged in front of them, weapons blazing.

"Transmit those codes to Excalibur, quickly" Phoenix-person ordered, panting as he did. As he shot cultists, more of them shot holes in him. Phoenix-person was using his body as a shield. Tammy had finished her calibrations and plugged in the device, but something was wrong.

"I must've forgotten to mention I had the long-range comms disabled before I left the office. Oh, well" President Morty mocked.

"Nothing I can't bypass, I just need time to make some modifications" Tammy observed. Phoenix-person was on his last legs, his body unable to take any more hits. When Phoenix-person gave his last, Rick started shooting weapons. President Morty bypassed him and tried to interfere with Tammy, until Morty leapt on him, eager to finish what he started.

"You disappoint me, Morty. You were always a cut above the other Morties I've seen" President Morty lamented, while the two boys struggled.

"At least I don't associate with maniacs!" Morty rebuffed, while delivering punches and kicks to his evil clone.

"What do you think Rick is? A philanthropist?" President Morty countered, all the while fighting back. Both Morties knew this was a stalemate. After all, they were equal in terms of physical strength and fortitude. President Morty managed to regain enough strength to produce a hidden weapon and shoot Tammy in the back, delivering a fatal blow. Fortunately, she had finished bypassing the long-range comms. Morty had pushed the transmit button before President Morty could react.

On the ships, Admiral Rick had received a transmission and gotten news from all the other ships that they had received the same transmission. It was a set of codes, evidence that the team had accomplished their mission.

"They did it" Admiral Rick said to himself. Albert had told the fleet they had received the transmission as well. The president had already sent the retrieval team to pick up the statue from the given co-ordinates. Turns out they pointed to a section of forest in Gravity Falls. While Albert and Kilstone did think to search there, they also knew the forest was especially dense and had no idea where to search without angering the locals. Now they knew, the two men accompanied the president, Dipper, Mabel and the retrieval team.

Back on the Citadel, Morty C137, after another brief struggle, delivered a fatal blow to President Morty using an electro-knife. Right in his gut, but President Morty had a smile on his face.

"This station's power core is tied to my bio-signs. If I die, this station blows to hell" President Morty wheezed.

"So be it" Morty rebuked, making peace with his fate. He and Rick left the comm array. Rick had put his hand in his pocket to use his portal gun to get them home, only to reveal it had broken during the fight.

"Well, we're screwed" Rick said. All the while, SEAL team Ricks were retreating, having read the elevated power levels. Rick and Morty C137 went to an observation platform and saw the Earth one last time.

"Do you think they have a chance, Excalibur, I mean?" Morty inquired.

"With a little luck, yeah" Rick answered. He then turned to Morty, a sombre look on his face. "Why'd you come back?" Rick asked.

"Because Ricks and Morties do everything together" Morty responded, the only answer he could give. Rick then pulled Morty into an uncharacteristic hug as the station blew apart around them, embracing the end as a Rick and a Morty should, together.

On Earth, the rest of the group found Bill's statue and, after a positive ID from Dipper and Mabel that the statue was Bill, a team loaded it onto the truck, careful not to touch anywhere on the hands. An aide whispered in the president's ear. The president then told Albert what he had heard. Albert knew he had to tell Mabel, knowing it would break her.

"NASA had detected an explosion. The Citadel's gone, along with whoever was on there when it blew. We called the Smith house. Rick and Morty did not come home, so we have to assume the worst. I'm sorry, Mabel" Albert consoled Mabel, who was already crying into Dipper's shoulder.

"Why did this have to happen? Morty was everything to me! He can't be gone. This isn't fair!" Mabel cried out and at that point, no words could soothe her broken heart.

"So, this is our victory? Rings hollow if you ask me" Dipper said, his heart heavy with loss. He had seen Morty as the brother he never had. Now, he was the brother he had just lost. Albert left the twins to their grief and liaised with Kilstone and the president.

"We'll have a base ready in the Tri-State Area. There are so much weird happenings there, it won't look too out of place. Still, we'll build it out of the public's eye" the president briefed. Albert and Kilstone weren't up to conversation, so they thanked the president and Kilstone saw to the statue, while Albert went up to the twins.

"Listen, you and I both know that Bill has a plan B, he must have, and this institute we've created needs people with experience to lead it, so I'd like to make you two an offer" Albert proposed.

"What kind of offer?" Dipper probed.

"I don't trust myself to lead, so instead, I propose the institute be run by an anonymous leader, we'll call him Major Smith. No-one, not even the president, will know who he is save for myself. I'd like that to be the two of you, if you're up for it" Albert offered. Dipper and Mabel gave this some thought, then came to a decision.

"We'll do it. Morty meant a lot to us and it would feel wrong to abandon the fight at this stage, we'd be doing his memory a disservice" Dipper accepted the offer. Albert said he'd make sure that Dipper and Mabel got special anonymising equipment to use when giving orders. Albert explained that while he would manage the day-to-day affairs, Dipper and Mabel, under their Major Smith guise, would give him their mission parameters and advise him of any changes they desired, essentially making Albert a mouthpiece to the real command authority.

The following Monday, Dipper and Mabel portalled home to Piedmont and Mabel fulfilled Morty's last request, to upload his remaining stories. She also announced Morty's death on her ArtSpace page and that there would be no more stories from him anymore. She gave the cover story in accordance to the agreement the group had not to reveal Bill's presence to the world. Almost instantly, there were outpourings of condolence and 'Rest in Peace' messages.

For the Smith family, times were tough. Summer Smith had taken the week off school to grieve for her brother and grandfather and to help with their funeral arrangements. Beth, too, took bereavement leave from her job. They too, could not disclose the truth, but that didn't stop them from developing a strong resentment not only for Bill, but the Excalibur Institute as a whole, feeling that if Rick and Morty had not gotten involved with them, they would still be here. The family were at a loss for words, even with each other. The day of the funeral arrived, and distant relatives and friends from Morty and Summer's school arrived at the gravesite, where the priest gave his service.

"Morty Smith was not what anyone would call popular in school, but his writing inspired many and brought joy into people's lives. It saddens all of us here to know that this aspiring young author's promising career has been cut tragically short. Even more tragic is the fact that we don't even have a body to bury. Let this site be a place where friends and family can remember this beloved soul" the priest said. As the coffin was being lowered, bagpipes were playing. When the service was finished, Jessica approached Summer.

"I never thought this would happen, Jess. Not for a minute. Morty, young, vulnerable Morty" Summer cried.

"I'm sorry, Summer. I knew all about the Rick stuff, but I always thought he would look out for him" Jessica consoled.

"He wasn't like Rick at all! Rick was the one who was the fighter. He knew what he was getting into, Morty didn't have a chance!" Summer responded.

"He didn't, Summer. If you ever need to talk, I'm right here" Jessica assured.

"Thanks, Jess, but I've got to be with my parents now. I'm all they've got left" Summer rebuked and left to join Beth and Jerry. Watching from behind a tree, Dipper and Mabel portalled out of the cemetery to go back home.

In the newly built Excalibur Institute, builders were finishing work to the vault where Bill's statue would be housed. With the unicorn hair provided by Mabel, a protective ring was placed around the statue, along with a monitor for Bill to interact with visitors. When Albert was alone with the thing, the monitor flared to life and Bill appeared on-screen.

"Albert Stevens, is that what you're calling yourself now?" Bill chided.

"The old me is gone, and this new me will make sure you never rise to power ever again" Albert said resolutely.

"You shouldn't say that with certainty. In case you've forgotten, I always have a plan B. Tell me, which poor, unfortunate soul will have to die to stop me then?" Bill taunted.

"I will say this for certain, no-one else will die stopping you, and your time will come" Albert promised and left the vault. In his new office, Kilstone was there waiting to debrief him.

"The analysts have finished their work on those files Morty transmitted. This vessel the cult mentions, there's no information on him other than a name, Milo Murphy" Kilstone debriefed.

"What do we know about him?" Albert asked.

"We know which school he goes to and that he is indeed cursed with extreme bad luck, but can we stop Bill from using him to regain his power without knowing how this curse works?" Kilstone replied.

"Don't worry about that. I know someone that can get us close to him" Albert responded. He made a few calls, then hung up the phone. Like Bill, Albert also had a plan.

Author's note: Finally done, both with the chapter and with the story. Writing the ending was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but in the grand scheme of things in the Cipher War anthology, it had to be done. In case you couldn't tell, this is my first and last story in the Rick and Morty fandom. While the show itself is fun, I feel like I can't understand it half the time, too many alternate timelines and such. Still, I hope the story was engaging enough for my readers. I really don't know what I'll do next, but I'm sure I'll think of something. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing, Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon and Adult Swim own Rick and Morty, and Disney and Alex Hirsch own Gravity Falls. Enjoy.


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